Zech Soakai
Zech Soakai
Zechariah Soakai is an artist and storyteller who has worked full-time for six years in education as a kaiako, kaiārahi (dean) and facilitator — creating safe spaces for Māori and Pasifika rangatahi to define success on their own terms. Much of his professional life has been dedicated to building a more equitable education system, while never letting go of the power of the arts to transform who we are and how we come together.
Now in a season of both hustle and flow, Zechariah continues to sharpen his skills in education while centring storytelling as his primary practice. He is committed to story sovereignty, beginning with his own people, and has spent the past seven years affirming to youth that their stories matter. Yet he also recognises the need to share his own work in written form — creating space for his stories to be read, held, and remembered.
Project Summary
Fafagu Measina Spoken Word Poetry Residency | Sāmoa
Earlier this year, Zechariah Soakai participated in Fafagu Measina, a Pacific-led spoken word poetry residency grounded in oral traditions, spiritual wisdom, and the collective strength of their ancestors. Conceptualised through research at the University of Melbourne and engagement in spoken word residencies abroad, Fafagu Measina was designed to bridge connections between Pacific diasporic communities in Aotearoa, Australia, and Samoa. Rooted in Samoa, it reawakened the power of tofi (inheritance) through poetry, connecting Pacific poets to land, Atua, and each other in a creative space of remembrance and innovation.
More than a retreat, the residency became a movement towards social cohesion and healing. Designed collectively and evaluated through Sāmoan practices of talanoa and shared leadership, it nurtured communal growth over competition and transformed longing into lotonu’u (cultural pride). By honouring the sacred vā between generations, Fafagu Measina adorned nations with poetry that spoke of life, legacy, and love.
The first iteration of Fafagu Measina was made possible through the support of dedicated collaborators and supporters, whose investment and belief ensured the initiative could be realised and carried forward: Le Vā Pasifika (Aotearoa), Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity (Australia), Australian Seed Centre, Brown Girl Woke (Sāmoa).
RESIDENCY SUMMARY
My participation in the Fafagu Measina writer’s residency in Sāmoa, supported by Tautai’s Artists Across Borders Fund, was honestly a life send. It was life-giving, challenging, awe-inspiring, and deeply invigorating. The experience allowed me to step away from the constant hustle of South Auckland and embrace the natural rhythm and flow of life in Sāmoa.
Throughout the residency, I took part in a rich programme that included an ava ceremony at Mulifanua in Marina’s village, learning sessions at the Malietoa Memory, and a lecture by Dr Louise Mataia-Milo on Samoa’s Sovereign Story at the National University of Sāmoa. I joined Story as Currency, a writing and sharing space led by Sāmoan academics, and participated in a lotu afiafi session exploring how families are organised both on-island and in the diaspora. I also researched the makeki, the vibrant heart of Sāmoan life, and attended workshops on song, story sovereignty, and spoken word with Dr Natasha Urale-Baker and Dietrich Soakai.
My biggest learnings came through these encounters. I learned the importance of syncing to ancestral rhythms of moving, making, and writing; the need to know where you spiritually, physically, and emotionally draw your stories from; and that returning to your fanua (land) offers more than just answers. It offers reconnection, healing, and perspective.
I am so grateful for Marina Alefosio and her aiga, whose care and alofa shaped the residency. So often in my life and work, I give and give and give. To be held and nurtured was profoundly restorative. Even though the experience didn’t unfold in the productive sense I had first imagined, the rest and reflection I found made me more creative and grounded when I returned home.
This was my first time back in Sāmoa since 2017, and what a different homecoming it was. I returned not as a researcher, but as a sense-maker, artist, and facilitator. Sāmoa reminded me that while I hold courageous space for the tamaiti of South Auckland to live and be their fullest selves, I must also make courageous space for myself. The places I draw from creatively need to be regenerative and healing. Being nurtured and making time to learn is just as important as serving others.
The land itself became my teacher, inviting me to listen, grieve, and love. While my goal was to complete most of my debut poetry manuscript, the fanua offered deeper lessons in stillness, mourning, and becoming. Travelling alongside a majority First Nations and Aboriginal Australian group, and a strong mana wāhine Māori presence, made the experience even more powerful. The talanoa, stories, and shared wisdom from these incredible people were life changing.
I am proud to say I achieved my goal of finishing the manuscript for my first poetry collection, which will be released in late 2025. I do not take this for granted.
My advice to others is simple: be bold and apply. Especially for those of us in the diaspora, returning home through residencies like Fafagu Measina is vital. It helps us remember who and where we come from and shows us who we continue to grow to be because of where we have been.